Return to Anagen
by viicious
Summary: Advent Children fanfiction.


Cloud Strife opened his eyes. These mako blues etched into the sad face scanned the surroundings. He was here, but didn't remember why. Visit Aeris, perhaps? A mist was creeping low on the ground, reflecting the glow of the nearby trees. The mist seemed to lock all the secrets up of this once sacred, but now ill-begotten, place. Cloud meandered forward, the mistly fog curling up around him, irked at being cut, lashing at his tails, but settling back down for the cool earth. Cloud stopped. The unending lake was full of a memory that was far from forgotten. It seemed to constantly tug at the frayed edges of his consciousness, and forever keep him in a perpetual loop of self-hatred and guilt. He followed the trail from the holy statue, a conch shell's shape, to the lip of the pond. Such was the beauty and moroseness of this place... 

Cloud gasped in abject horror, staring straight into the murky depths of the pond.

_Children!_, he thought.

At least fifty infants were floating in the water, a device attached to each of their backs, the ShinRa emblem marked on the side. The appeared to move with an invisible sway of waves, but upon viewing the edge of the pond, no such movement was relinquished from the almost black pool of water. He intended to inspect this twisted happening, but tripped on his way there. Cascading into the water, he turned a cold body towards them. They appeared deformed, and speaking in some kind of rythmic humming, quite like when the Planet speaks.

Then he awoke, his eyes shooting wide open in the morning light that beamed pleasantly through the peeking shades of the grimy window. He peered around. What a strange dream... but it seemed no different from others he had experienced. He stood up, straightening his bed, and wondered if Tifa knew how to read dreams. Even if she did, he mused to himself, he wouldn't tell her anything. No sense in working up someone over something as plain and commonplace as a dream. Though it seemed foreboding, and he thought to cancel his plans to stop by the Cetran city once again. Pay respects, and thensome. But a dream was a dream; Cloud had had so many before, so it was no worry. He decided to continue on.

When he left Icicle Inn, he shook his head, smiling. Another fresh slew of memories danced into his vivid mind. Dodging a punch from a Turk was something else! Especially if you had been against them for a long, long time. The jacket was snug on him then, and he headed south. Over the snow, through the caves, past those familiar creatures he fought so long ago... Everything was a hated memory. Cloud treasured the day he would grow too old to remember anything at all. And then, at last, he would be happy, having escaped the truth. But for now, he grieved and repented to give the sorry to the gods above and Aeris.

_One or two hours later..._

Cloud stood up straight. There it was. Climbing down the conch shell statues, he kept in his eyes the pond, the forest, and the sky. He jumped down from a pike sticking out of the shell, and alas, he stood amongst the trees, clouding the sky so brilliantly and wonderfully that the glow of the trees was most appreciated. He thought what he should do then. Perhaps pray to her? Maybe apologise. Again. Or maybe just stare at the water until his mind's eyes believed he saw her rise from the pond and forgive him. He sat at the lip of the pond, tapping the water absentmindedly with his finger. It reflected the trees so well, and made interesting shapes across the surface as the waves ran away from him. In between the miniature crests, it became possible to see through the water. Perhaps he would see Aeris...? A farfetched hope, but he looked anyway. He saw something familiar.

Cloud jumped up surprised.

_Children!_, he thought.

Baffled, but angry, he viewed them. They were the same as the dream. He didn't understand. What were they doing here? No doubt, a perverse ShinRa experiment. They were such monsters. Cloud always knew his answers came within due time, but he never expected so quickly, when he heard a gentle thud of a body hitting the floor. He snapped his attention to the object to see a familiar body.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" his silky, little ribbon of a voice flowed from his small mouth.

"Kadaj!" Cloud spat, "Are you responsible for this?"

"I see a ShinRa logo on those pacs, Brother..." appearing innocent, minding the devices that held the floating infants.

Cloud knew this was no place to fight, and Kadaj was nearly all the way across the pond's length. He frowned, his eyebrows furled in annoyance and anger.

"What are they doing with them?"

"Would you like to see it, Brother? It's called Return to Anagen. A celebration of the best kind!"

"What are they doing?"

"Brother... well, I'll inform you, then, but I highly recommend you join the celebration." He walked two feet and instructed Cloud's attention to a child whose device nearly reached the surface. "Each of these children are injected with sleeping cells from Mother."

"Sleeping?" mimicked Cloud.

"Are you going to let me tell you, or not?" asked Kadaj, appearing impatient.

Cloud was silent.

"When I call and confirm to ShinRa the start of the process, they will let go Lifestream from their headquarters, in the form of... just the sweetest little balls of light. They look quite like fireflies."

Kadaj sounded as if he adored the Lifestream in that form. Cloud just thought he was sick. He thought they all were. He was no better for joining AVALANCHE and hurting hundreds of people for the freedom of the others trapped in the oppressive Midgar. But at least their intentions had a purpose: to help. ShinRa's only intentions with anything always had negative effects.

"What's the use of the Lifestream, Kadaj?" Cloud nearly demanded.

"Temper, temper," Kadaj joshed, "The Lifestream will only awaken Mother's cells. After that... well, you're coming, aren't you?"

"What will happen to them!"

"You're _coming_... aren't you?"

"Kadaj!"

Kadaj began to walk away, smiling in deviation, when Cloud demanded an answer. He ran to follow Kadaj, who kept his back turned rudely the whole time. Cloud summoned forth on of his swords, the Yoshiyuki, and, nearing Kadaj, swung it mercilessly. Kadaj, feeling so simply about the matter, swung around, the God's Blade in his hand, and it clanged against the Yoshiyuki violently. They held it there. Kadaj smiled in an earnest, yet malicious way.

"When the mother from out the skies does enter into you, the horrors from all your life will all become the truth," Kadaj recited, a poet in disguise and laughing all the same.

Cloud, face as angered as usual, unlocked their grip with a swing, and jumped back in defence.

"Be here," Kadaj said low, "... tonight." He walked away then. Cloud stared after him until Kadaj was lost and all in the darkened mist.

A dispute then arose inside Cloud's mind when he reached Icicle Inn. His room, warm and cozy, viciously contrasted the thoughts of the cold and cruel-looking forest with the infants floating in Aeris's pond. The dispute really was, should he go? Another memory to forever pain over, another mishap amongst the ShinRa, Inc., another encounter with an enemy... He sighed, and lie in his bed, forever milling thought after thought until, peering at the clock, it was justly evening. A cursing is what he presented himself for his actions of lying in bed, thinking of nothing, for hours. He stood up, and stretched. But the question wasn't answered, even though, in the far quarters of his mind, the answer had been set the minute Kadaj had asked.

Yes.

_Again, one or two hours later..._

A surprise greeted Cloud when he jumped from that pike on the conch shell statue and viewed the pond area. The area just beyond the pond's edge was packed full of people! An event was what this was, and Cloud didn't like the look of it. Some were ShinRa employees, but most seemed to be factions against the rebels and pro-ShinRa groups. Cloud shook his head in disgust, and startled around at that familiar voice again. This time, only five feet away.

"Surprised?" Kadaj mocked, "Don't be. It'll be beautiful."

"Why do you people keep thinking you can get away with this?" Cloud asked earnestly.

"Well, no one's stopped them yet."

And Cloud knew it as the truth, despite his greatest desire, at that very moment, was to crush ShinRa forever. They were just like Sephiroth... They _never_ went away.

"Would you like to start?" Kadaj asked, pulling out his cellular phone, his God's Blade, in its sheath, swaying at his movements. Cloud looked to the phone, then to Kadaj, and then peered at the pond, wondering. Kadaj pressed a pre-dialed button, and spoke clearly into the receiver.

"You can start now, President."

_So, Rufus is behind it_, Cloud thought. He waited. What was he looking for, really? Little Lifestream bugs that would dance around the children and they would awaken and start acting like babies, crawling all over Kadaj, and stinking up their nappies? Cloud couldn't help himself, and snorted out a short laugh.

"What's so funny, Brother?" Kadaj asked, sharply, "I have a sense of humour."

"I was just thinking of ways this little plan of yours would mess up."

"Too bad it won't. Look now, Brother, the Streamflies have arrived."

And true to the word of his enemy, he peered over to the crowd, who was "oohing" and "aahing" at the small little glows of bright, green light. Cloud saw a flash of light here and there; some were taking photographs. The Lifestream lights washed over the crowd, creating a brilliant wave of green glow over unfaithful, hateful, and evil faces. They clouded around the surface together, a huge mass circling over the pond, creating enough brightness to alight everything. Then they suddenly dove beneath the surface, brightening the dark depths, where now it was so visible the children suspended there. Twenty or so little Lifestream flurries entered through the bottom of the devices in a place Cloud could not see from his position. Then there was darkness again and a pause.

"You'll like this, Brother. See how well just small Streamflies work with Mother..."

Then the change began. Huge creatures burst through the water, muscular, and disturbingly ugly. They were mutating, green shimmers reflected in their ghastly skins ever so often. The devices broke off them and dropped back into the water. The crowd was cheering as one, rather large, red creature stood up and screamed a loud roar. Cloud was outraged.

"They're creating monsters?" he demanded, eyes locked on them.

Monsters creating monsters.

"In a way..." responded Kadaj lightly, "It's really just to keep the people against the light of the world in... check."

Cloud turned to Kadaj. He knew he meant the anti-ShinRa groups. But this was ricidulous. Huge monsters? To take care of measly groups, who barely even try? By far, AVALANCHE had been the most successful, and quite frankly, they were retired.

"What do you hope to accomplish, Kadaj? World domination? ShinRa's second man? A seat at the top?"

Kadaj merely smiled sinisterly into Cloud's eyes, thinking of how simple it would be to get all those things. None of which he wanted, however.

"Just some fun, Brother. Just some fun..."

He turned to watch, with a hint of being proud, as the monsters, once human, came alive in the pond, dripping and muscular, and not knowing any truths to the situation. Cloud peered at the them from the corner of his eye, as they marched on through the forest, clipping trees and growling massively, raising the mist like ghosts around them, as if their souls came out.

Fin.


End file.
